5 Years later
by R5obsessed
Summary: 5 years into Charlie and Amita's future. Charlie and Amita stay in England when offered a full time professorship there. Now they're on the other side of the world from their home with three kids of their own.
1. A Normal Day

**Hey! So this is my first fanfic. I wrote this a while ago, then I found this site and decided to post it here. Definitely not finished yet. R&R please!**

**Disclaimer: I do no own NUMB3RS, for if I did, the show would still be on air**

It started off as a normal day for the Eppes family. Well, using the term "normal" lightly that is. Charles was in the car, driving his children to school, and his wife, Amita, was to his left in the passenger seat. Now, this is the first moment where the term "normal" starts to deviate from it's definition. Charlie Eppes was driving his four-and-a-half year old, twin children to Cambridge Child Development Center for the Intellectually Gifted on a Thursday afternoon.

Edward and Alexis, the twins, were in the back seat of the car watching a popular TV program about super heroes who battled crime with math and science. This show was a favorite of theirs, but was detested by the youngest of the Eppes children, Margaret. Margaret joined her brother and sister in the backseat of the car, but wasn't watching the show. Instead, she looked out the window while humming to the radio. Charlie was unusually silent; deep in thought.

"Charlie, are you okay?" Amita whispered in his ear.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking." Charlie said as he reached down and held his wife's hand. Charlie had been thinking like this a lot lately. There were moments like this, in the car, that reminded him of all those years at CalSci. Even though it had been five years since the big move, Charlie could remember those moments like it was yesterday. Which only reiterated the fact that his life had changed so quickly. He had gotten married, moved across the world, and left behind his family to start his own in such a short period of time.

"Daddy, we're here!" said Alexis. Charlie pulled into a parking spot and looked back at his children

"Now, both of you be good and pay attention." Charlie reminded his kids.

"Okay daddy." said Alexis. Charlie realized just how blessed he was to have such brilliant children. Finally, something about parenting that he could understand; having gone through the experience of private schooling at this age as well. "Bye guys. Love you!" Charlie called out as they got out of the car.

"Bye daddy!" They cried back in unison. With that, Amita took her children by the hand and walked them inside, leaving Charlie sitting in the car with Margaret. He had become accustomed to take this time to sit and reflect. He used the time for thought; thought about change. His life had really turned around since he left LA. His guest professorship at Cambridge had gone so well, that they had asked himself and Amita to stay full time. And how could he turn that down? of course his family urged him on; teaching at Cambridge was his dream. But now his life had become more orderly and routine; less spontaneous. He had a wife and three kids to look after. He didn't have a father, or even an older brother to look out for him anymore; they were halfway around the world.

There were times where Charlie missed his adventures with Don. They had collaborated quite often at the FBI, and had shared some exciting moments. Moments like finding a serial killer's base by analyzing his crimes, almost getting shot at the FBI office, even when Don was stabbed. Charlie had a rough time coping when that happened; and what's worse was when Amita was kidnapped. Things like this hadn't happened here in England, but he knew that his brother still dealt with these things everyday. He considered calling Don to see how things were going, or even if Don needed his help with anything.

It was then that Amita got back in the car. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"What? Oh, nothing. Nothings wrong." he replied.

"Yes there is, and don't deny it. I know you Charlie; I know that look on your face. You were thinking about change again, weren't you?"

"No, no I-" he started to answer, but Amita shot him a look that said, 'just tell me', and he gave in. "Do you ever miss it; what our lives were like?"

"Well, of course I do. However, it's not about what our lives were like then, but what our lives are like now. Change is inevitable Charlie, and those who can adapt most quickly are most likely to survive."

"I've heard that before. You got that from Larry didn't you?" Even as he said his name, a moment of homesickness overwhelmed him.

"I never get anything past you, do I?"

"We're geniuses; what do you expect?"

"I expect you to be confident in your life here and happy with what we have. It's been five years Charlie, and it's almost summer break and our trip back home. We're fine where we are for the time being."

"I love it when you bring logic back to my dilemmas."

"You're welcome"

"Daddy, you okay?" Margaret asked from the back seat.

"Yeah honey. Daddy's fine" Charlie replied.

"Alright, Margie. What do you want for your special birthday lunch?" Margie was turning three on this day, and Charlie and Amita wanted to do something special.

"Ummmm, I don't know. Ice cream?" she replied.

"That's not really lunch sweetheart." Charlie said as he chuckled. "What if I made you your favorite spaghetti?"

"With the swirly noodles?"

"Yes, with the swirly noodles."

As soon as the three of them arrived home, Charlie went to work making lunch while Margie and Amita sat in their dining room; both of them working intently. Amita was working on a lecture for next week while Margie was working on coloring a picture.

"Whatcha working on there Margie?" Amita asked.

"Just coloring."

"Coloring what?"

"A puppy. Look at all of its spots!"

"I see all the spots! There's a lot of them!" Amita said excitedly. She loved having these silly conversations with her kids, though those conversations didn't happen as often with Edward and Alexis anymore.

"Yeah! So far I've colored five of them!" Margie replied.

Amita paused. She looked at the picture and saw that only three spots had been colored. She knew that Margie was only three, but this was when Edward and Alexis, even her and Charlie, had started showing signs of mathematical potential. Something wasn't right.

"No honey." Amita said as gently as she could "You've only colored three spots."

"Nuh uh!" Margie backfired." See, I'll count them. One... two... and, um...three. Oh, I guess you're right mommy. I'm sorry."

"It's okay Margie." But it wasn't okay. By her age, most children can subitize about three objects, or determine an amount without necessarily counting. Most adults can subitize about six items, while Charlie could subitize about ten. Even Edward and Alexis could subitize four to five objects. The fact that Margie had to physically count to three, and that she was hesitant , worried Amita.

"Charlie. Can you come here? I need to talk to you."

**Please tell me what you think, cause even I don't know exactly where I should go with this. Thanks, and God bless =]] **


	2. On the other Side

**Disclaimer: I don't own NUMB3Rs, because if I did, it would still be on the air. I do own the three Eppes kids, so that has to count for something… right?**

Don Eppes walked into his apartment after a long day at the FBI. He sat down on his couch to watch some hockey and take his mind off of things. He and his team had just solved another case involving a kidnapper and serial rapist. They had recovered the 6 year old girl he had taken and cornered him in an ally when he shot one of his agents before taking his own life. Luckily, Nikki was ok; she had suffered worse than a shot in her upper arm.

Don wished his wife was here to comfort him after a long day, but Robin was in Orlando for a trial. That's the hardest part about both of them working, their time spent together was short. Somehow, they still made it work. For a while, it seemed that his life was going to drastically change. About two years ago, Robin had been pregnant. They were both worried, as well as excited, but she lost the baby after a month. Robin had been devastated, and they never really spoke about it again.

Don's life had changed a lot already though. Don had lost one of his greatest agents, David, after he took a job leading his own team in D.C. His brother moved across the world right after getting married, and then Don had gotten married himself a year later. Of course, everyone had thought that Charlie and Amita would return six months later and everything would go back to almost normal, which made Charlie's call four years ago a tough one to hear.

* * *

_ "Hey Chuck!" Don had said after answering his brother on the phone. "How are things across the pond?"_

_ "Great! Teaching at Cambridge is everything I had always dreamed it would be." Charlie replied. "And don't call me Chuck."_

_ "Fair enough. So, what's up?"_

_ "Well, um, things are going really great here."_

_ "You already said that bro. What's going on?"_

_"Amita and I have been offered full time professorships here at Cambridge!" Charlie exclaimed. Don's heart got stuck in his throat. He would never admit this to anyone, not Charlie, not his dad, not even Robin, but he missed his brother terribly. Things just weren't the same around the FBI office without Charlie and his math genius abilities. Sure, he had Larry and Otto, but Charlie had helped so much over his six years._

_"That's… that's great." Don was finally able to get out._

_"Thanks. But I don't know if we should except. Sure, we love it here in England, but we miss it t home. plus, with Amita being pregnant, I'm not sure if we want to stay."_

_"Of course you have to accept!" Don exclaimed. "Teaching at Cambridge is your dream!"_

_"And I've lived out my dream these past few months. Plus, I miss CalSci. I miss Larry and Dad and… well… everyone."_

_"I still think you should take the job."_

_"Thanks Don. I'll think about it and let you guys know." And with that the phone conversation was over._

* * *

That had been four years ago. Charlie had called a few weeks later to say that they accepted the jobs and they were staying, but they'd be sure to visit over summer break. Then Charlie had called a few months later saying that Amita had given birth to twins, one girl and one boy. and year and a half after that, Charlie called saying that Margaret was born.

And then there was Don. He never called his brother with exciting news like a new job, or thoughts of a family. Don called his brother when he needed help with a case, or Robin was out of town and he needed someone to talk to. The only time that Don called with exciting news was when he invited Charlie, Amita and the twins to the wedding, but Charlie already knew about that. Once again, Don felt a little twinge of jealousy towards his younger brother.

*_RING*RING*RING*_

Don answered his phone with his usual "Eppes" only to hear Colby's voice on the other side.

"Don, I know you don't want to hear this, but that Martinez girl is missing again. It seems that this didn't end with that Bailey guy. I think he has a whole ring of kidnappers/ serial rapists."

_ Great. Just great._ Do thought as he checked his watch "Okay. I'll be there in fifteen minutes." He hung up his phone. grabbed his jacket and keys and went out to his car. He checked his watch again to see it reading 10:27 at night. Charlie would just be getting up at this time, about to head off to work while Amita stayed with the kids.

Oh yeah, Don was definitely jealous of his younger brother again.

**What do you think? Still don't know exactly where I'm going with this, so please review! I'll consider any idea you give me! Thanks, and God bless =]]**


	3. Complications

**Back to England! I think I might keep up with switching back and forth from Don and Charlie's POV. So, here's chapter 3! R&R please!**

**Disclaimer: Are disclaimers even necessary on this website? If any of us owned anything that we wrote about, it wouldn't be posted on this site… just saying.**

Charlie and Amita waited in the main lobby of the neurologist's office. Charlie was pacing around the small space, while Amita was telling him to sit down. Charlie wasn't listening; he was deep in thought, wondering when it all went wrong. He thought back to what had happened just the day before.

* * *

_"Charlie. Can you come here? I need to talk to you."_

_ "Sure thing." Charlie replied before walking out of the kitchen and into the dining room. "What's up?"_

_ "Margaret, sweety, why don't you head up to your room for a while. I want to talk to daddy alone." Amita said to her daughter._

_ "Okay mommy." Margaret replied before going upstairs._

_ "What's wrong?" Charlie asked nervously. "Why don't you want Margie to hear us?"_

_ "Something's wrong with Margie, and I'm worried. She was coloring this picture of a dog," Amita said as she showed Charlie the picture, "and she had said that she had colored five spots when there's only three. When I told her that only three spots were colored, she protested. When she counted the spots, she was really hesitant. I mean, Edward and Alexis could multiply four digit numbers in their heads at this age, and Margie can't even count to three? What if there's something horribly wrong?" Amita looked worried and on the verge of tears._

_ "It's okay Amita," Charlie said as he comforted his wife, "we'll figure this out." Charlie then called Margie down for lunch. After they had finished eating, Charlie asked Margaret a few simple math questions; questions that most three ear olds could answer. When Margaret struggled with these, Charlie decided to take Margaret to a neurologist to see what was going on._

* * *

And there they were; waiting for the doctor to come out and say what was wrong with their daughter. Charlie hadn't necessarily wanted all of his kids to inherit has mathematical abilities, but he knew it would something about parenting that he could understand. So when Edward and Alexis had showed mathematical potential at an early age, Charlie was thrilled. When Margaret was born, Charlie had at least hoped that she would have basic math ability, but now this had happened. Math was the one thing that Charlie had always understood; always loved. If he couldn't share that with all of his kids, what would he do?

Suddenly, the doctor came out with Margaret. Margaret ran to Amita, who picked her up and set her on her hip. Margie whispered into her mother's ear, "They kept on asking me all these questions with numbers Mommy. I don't like numbers." Charlie overheard that last comment, and his heart shattered. There were times in his life where all he had to turn to was the numbers. Whenever something went wrong in his life, Charlie always responded with math. How could his own daughter turn away from the numbers? The doctor took Charlie aside.

"What's wrong with my little Margie?" Charlie asked, the hurt obvious in his voice.

"Margie has a specified learning disability called Dyscalculia. It's similar to Dyslexia, but instead of getting letters or words confused, she'll mix up numbers. The most common symptoms are difficulty with basic math skills, trouble reading analog clocks, and a deficient in subitizing." the doctor told Charlie simply. "Look, Professor Eppes, I know this is probably hard on you, but, when it comes to teaching Margaret about math, I suggest a personal tutor. Most kids can overcome learning disabilities like this, and learn to work around it."

"Okay. Thank you doctor." Charlie said simply. He took his wife, who was still holding Margie, b the hand and walked out to the car. The car ride back to their house was silent, except for Margie quietly humming from the back seat. Charlie and Amita were deep in thought at the recent news, both of them thinking how they were going to overcome this.

Things in the Eppes family just got a lot more complicated.

**That's all for this chapter! Please review and tell me if you like it, along with and comments, or questions or suggestions for the story. Thanks, and God bless. =]]**


	4. Doing this Again

**Okay. Back to Don. This chapter will explain more about the case, which was difficult, because I didn't want to repeat anything from the show. So here's chapter 4! R&R please**

**Disclaimer: Unnecessary **

Don sat in the interrogation room across from Sonya Martinez, the mother of Isabel Martinez, the six year old girl who is missing again. "So tell me what happened Mrs. Martinez." Don said softly.

"I was at my home, with my daughter, just after she was released from the hospital. She was asleep in my arms, and I just wanted to let her rest. She has gone through things most children her age can't begin to imagine. Then I heard a knock on my door. I quietly set Isabel down and went to the door." Sonya paused, the tears welling up in her eyes as speaking became more difficult. "I opened the door, and there was this big man. He pinned me to the ground, as another man barged in and took my daughter! My little Isabel! She had just come home and now she's gone again!" Sonya was bawling at this point.

Don sat there silently, waiting for her to calm down while she let out her feelings. When Sonya had quieted down some, Don asked, "Could you describe the men for me?"

"Well, the one who was holding me down was big, about 6 foot 5, maybe. He was white, and he had really dark long hair. They were both wearing masks, but I remember his eyes. They were shockingly blue, and they almost looked to blue to be real. The other man was shorter, maybe 5 foot 10? But he was strong. I couldn't see much of him, but he picked up my daughter with one arm and threw her over his shoulder, so he had to be strong. I don't know if that helps. but…"

"It helps." Don said simply. "I'm sorry this had to happen to you again, Mrs. Martinez." Don stood up, looked her straight in the eye and said, "But don't worry. We've recovered Isabel before, and we will get her back again."

"Thank you Agent Eppes. Thank you." Sonya said softly, before standing up herself. Don escorted her out of the room and went to the War room to meet with this team.

"So, it seems we have a team of kidnappers. Not sure how many there are, but so far we have Bailey, his accomplice Weise, and the two guys who showed at the Martinez house tonight. We also know that Bailey was a serial rapist, but we're not sure of the rest of his team." Don paused at looked at him team, who were listening to him intently. They had already solved this case, but it turned out that is was so much bigger than they had known.

Don's team hadn't changed much over the past five years. Sometimes David would come back if their cases ever crossed paths. Megan returned for a short amount of time after she had received her doctorate. She said she wanted one last taste of the FBI before she switched her careers completely. Other than that, these three had always been there. Colby was now Don's relief agent, and both Nikki and Liz had grown as agents.

"Now," Don continued, "We have vague descriptions of the two men. One is large, tall, Caucasian with blue eyes that, according to Mrs. Martinez, were almost too blue to be real."

"Maybe he had colored contact lenses." Nikki commented.

"They make those?" Colby asked. "Why would you want to change your eye color?"

"I don't know, so maybe if you're holding someone captive, and all they see is your eyes, they won't be able to identify you." Nikki shot back

"Well then…" Colby started

"Guys!" Don interrupted their small argument. _Some things never change _Don thought. "As for the other man, all we have is about 5' 10" and strong. I'll have Mrs. Martinez work with the sketch team and we'll try to get those out. Nikki, Liz, I want you to go and talk to Weise and see if he can't give us any more information about the rest of the team. Colby, you and I will go and check out Bailey's apartment again."

And with that they set off for their own tasks. Don's team worked well together, and having a team of four was good for splitting up like this. Don and Colby got in the black SUV; Colby in the driver's seat. Don decided to call Larry, for he and Otto had helped out with this case earlier on.

"Hey Don." Larry answered after the third ring.

"Hey Larry. The Martinez girl is missing again. Do you think tha-"

"Again? Why again? And who would do such a thing?" Larry always hard a hard time with cases that involved children.

"We think that Bailey was part of some team. Do you think you could do your whole wave analysis again?"

"Well, as a wavelet analysis worked in locating the original kidnapper, I doubt it would work again as now things have changed. That particular analysis pertained to that specific occurrence in time and space, but things are different this time. I'll call Otto and see what he has to say."

"Okay Larry. Colby and I are on our way to Bailey's apartment, so you and Otto can head to the FBI and we'll be there soon."

"Alright Don." And with that, Don hung up.

Colby pulled the SUV into the parking lot for the apartment complex. He and Colby made their way to Bailey's room, and walked into the door.

Don couldn't believe he was doing this again.

**So, what do you think about the case? Dang, writing for Larry is difficult. Don't kill me if I screw something up with the math, because I honestly have no idea what I'm talking about. They used wavelets on an episode that had a kidnapping, so I used it here. With that said, please review! I'll take any suggestions you give me! Thanks, and God bless =]]**


	5. Chapter 5

**This is not a chapter upload. This is a desperate plea for ideas. I'm not sure what I should write for the next Charlie chapter Anything you give me I will try my best to work with it. Please review or PM me with ideas! **

**Thanks, and God bless =]]**

**R5obsessed**


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